Exploring Criminal Justice in * Rick Ruddell, University of Regina, and Krystal Glowatski, Simon Fraser University

This supplement to Exploring Criminal Justice in provides additional content about crime and the responses of the police, courts, and corrections that is specific to British Columbia, including issues related to urban and rural crime and innovative crime control strategies being developed in the province, such as predictive policing. The summary ends with a review of a number of criminal cases that drew the world’s attention, such as the murder of Reena Virk and the missing women on Highway 16 (the Yellowhead Highway), which has become known as the Highway of Tears. Altogether, these cases, events, and informa- tion specific to the province of British Columbia enable readers to better understand the provincial context that can’t be covered in a textbook that focuses on the entire nation.

4.0 3.8 BRITISH COLUMBIA: CRIME AT A GLANCE 3.6 3.5 Of the 10 provinces, BC falls within the mid-range of rates 3.2 of reported crime and victimization. British Columbians are 3.0 less likely to be victimized than those living in the three Prai- 2.5 2.0 rie Provinces, although rates of violent and 2.0 in BC are somewhat higher than those reported in 1.5 and . Like the rest of Canada, rates of crime reported 1.5 1.3 1.3 to the police have been dropping since the 1990s and the rate 1.0 0.9 0.7 of offences per 100,000 residents reported to the police in BC 0.6 0.5 is lower today than rates in the 1970s. Perreault (2015, p. 7) found the proportion of British Columbia residents who re- 0.0 ported being victims of violent crimes dropped by 35 per cent NL PEINSNBQCONMBSKABBC between 2004 and 2014. Moreover, the rate of youth accused FIGURE 1 Provincial Homicide Rates (per 100,000 residents), 2015 of crime in BC is the lowest in the nation. Lower crime rates Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0051. impact the entire justice system: fewer cases are being heard in BC courts, and the youth incarceration rate dropped by firearms offences (Allen, 2016). Of the largest BC cities, Allen three-quarters between 2001 and 2015. found that the murder rate per 100,000 residents was highest While Exploring Criminal Justice described the inter- in Victoria (2.19), which was followed by (1.88), provincial differences in the Crime Severity Index CSI( ), the ­Abbotsford-Mission (1.63), and Kelowna (1.53). following figures show differences in homicide, drug crime, Some of these homicides are related to gang activities. Be- and youth crime, as well as rates of reported crime in the tween 2012 and 2014, of the 231 British Columbia homicides, largest cities. Figure 1 shows the homicide rate per 100,000 65 of these murders, or 28 per cent, were classified as gang-­ residents for 2015 and the BC rate of 2.0 is slightly higher related. This was quite a bit higher than the overall Canadian than the national average of 1.68 per 100,000 residents. With average of 17.8 per cent for the same three years (see CANSIM respect to homicides, while six provinces and had Table 253-0008). The media has reported that the number of lower levels of murder in 2014 than in 2013, the rate in British shootings in the Lower Mainland has increased through- Columbia increased by 15 per cent in 2014 (Miladinovic & out 2015 and 2016. Crime statistics published by the Royal Mulligan, 2015). In 2015, the homicide rate grew by another ­Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Surrey show that while 6 per cent, as 95 British Columbians were murdered that there has been an increased number of attempted murders year (Allen, 2016). Although it is common for homicide rates (up 211 per cent), the number of murders actually decreased to fluctuate slightly each year, that is a substantial increase by 40 per cent in 2015 (RCMP, 2016). for two years. There was a 7 per cent increase in the violent A report published in Maclean’s magazine highlights the CSI for the province of BC during 2015, driven by an in- large number of shootings that occurred in Surrey through- creased number of ­, attempted murders, and violent out 2015 and 2016, and these offences are likely to occur

*The ten provincial summaries follow a common template and although the examples presented in this supplement differ from the other nine, some of the content is very similar or will have identical text. Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

“when two groups of low-level gangs engaged in another turf interesting to see the impact of this change on drug crimes war over the city’s drug trade” (Macdonald, 2016). Although and whether this change will reduce the number of gang con- Surrey deployed an additional 100 Mounties to respond flicts, such as the ones occurring in Surrey. to these shootings, Simon Fraser University criminologist The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered In- Robert Gordon doubts that they will have much immediate digenous Women and Girls, initiated in 2016, has brought re- impact given that these turf wars involve “conflicts between newed attention to the issue of violence towards women. For groups trying to gain control over the illegal drug trade” (as example, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada (2016) cited in Macdonald, 2016). called violence a serious public issue and reports that Allen (2016, p. 7) reports that the CSI in Canada increased more than 200 men and women are victimized every day by 5 per cent between 2014 and 2015 while the BC increase and a woman is killed by a family member every four days was 4 per cent. The offences that drove the changing CSI in Canada. With respect to family violence, risks of victim- were fraud, of $5,000 or under, and . Figure 2 ization increase for women, Indigenous women, people with presents the crime rates for the 10 largest British Colum- disabilities, and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, bia cities for 2015, and this figure shows considerable varia- trans, or questioning; in other words, some people experience tion in the amount of crime occurring within the province: a number of risk factors simultaneously (Chief Public Health Abbotsford, for example, has just over one-half as much Officer of Canada, 2016, p. 6). The findings of self-report- sur police-reported crime as Victoria. One question that crim- veys show that most incidents of family violence are never re- inologists like to ask is why crime differs so much between ported to the police, for a number of personal, relational, and these places. psychological reasons. According to the 2014 General Social There are some offences for which the province of Brit- Survey (GSS) “4 per cent of in the provinces with ish Columbia is a leader, including violations of the Con- a current or former spouse or common-law partner reported trolled Drugs and Substances Act. Cotter, Greenland, and having been physically or sexually abused by their spouse Karam (2015, p. 9) note that “Since 1982, British Columbia during the preceding 5 years” (Canadian Centre for Justice has reported the highest rate of drug-related crime among Statistics, 2016, p. 3). Rates of family violence tend to be fairly the provinces each year, with the exception of 2012, where close to the rate within a province and Figure 4 reported a slightly higher rate [see Figure 3]. shows that self-reported victimization in BC is higher than Cannabis accounted for about two-thirds (69 per cent) of all the national average, but less than three provinces in Atlantic police-reported drug offences in British Columbia in 2013.” Canada or in and Saskatchewan. Those researchers found that BC led the nation in terms of There is also increased attention being paid to the issue violations pertaining to the possession or use of cannabis of sexual violence since the trial and acquittal in 2016 of and crystal meth. In terms of Canada’s largest cities, Cotter, Jian Ghomeshi, the CBC broadcaster. The Ghomeshi trial Greenland, and Karam (2015, p. 10) report Kelowna leads the further highlighted issues related to reporting sexual as- nation in terms of violations, followed by Vancouver, Gati- sault, such as when reports are made to the police and re-­ neau, Regina, Abbotsford-Mission, and Victoria. As the legis- victimization. As noted in Exploring Criminal Justice sexual lation to legalize marijuana will be in place in 2017, it will be ­offences are among the least reported crimes. Perreault

14,000 12,369 12,000 11,081 700 11,010 10,484 10,826 10,000 600 576 8,282 500 490 8,000 7,058 6,759 6,746 6,599 6,000 400 325 285 297 4,000 300 273 277 235 232 2,000 200 183

0 100 0 Surrey Victoria Burnaby KelownaNanaimo NL PEI NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC CoquitlamKamloops Abbotsford Richmond Vancouver FIGURE 3 Violations of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (rate per FIGURE 2 Total Crime Rate per 100,000 Residents, Largest BC Cities, 2015 100,000 residents), 2013 Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0081. Source: Adapted from Cotter, Greenland, and Karam (2015).

2 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

6.0 14,000 13,084 5.5 5.3 4.9 12,000 5.0 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.2 10,000 4.0 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.3 8,000 7,798 3.0 6,020 2.5 6,000 5,380 2.1 4,710 5,030 2.0 4,000 3,459 3,456 1.5 3,295 3,071 1.0 2,000 0.5 0.0 0 NL PEI NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC NL PEI NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC FIGURE 4 Victims of Self-Reported Spousal Violence in the Past FIGURE 5 Youth Crime Rate (per 100,000 residents) by Province, 2014 Five Years (per cent), 2014 Source: Adapted from Allen and Superle (2016). Source: Adapted from Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (2016).

(2015, p. 3) analyzed the results of the 2014 GSS and estimated territories, and British Columbia also had higher rates of total that as few as 5 per cent of all sexual offences are actually re- CSI and violent CSI than the national average. ported to the police (and only a fraction of those cases result Although some of the crime-related information coming in convictions). Allen (2016, p. 45) reports that the number from British Columbia presented so far has emphasized what of sexual reported to the police in BC falls below the is “going wrong,” there are reasons to be optimistic about the national average (52 reports per 100,000 residents in BC as future. Allen and Superle (2016) report the number of youth compared to a national average of 60). Those results are con- crimes (persons aged 12 to 18 years) reported to the police sistent with Perreault’s (2015, p. 31) findings from the 2014 in 2014, and that information is presented in Figure 5. These GSS, which also shows that BC falls below the national aver- researchers found that British Columbia had the lowest rate age. Although crime statistics indicate that BC has rates of of youth accused of total overall crime in the nation (that in- sexual violence lower than the national average, we lack a full cluded property and violent crimes). Allen and Superle (2016, understanding of the true number of these offences and the p. 21) note that “In British Columbia youth were much less case outcomes of persons accused of these crimes. likely to be charged by police than adult accused (31 per cent Crime rates in the North and in the territories are higher compared to 54 per cent)” so some of these provincial differ- than in the southern parts of the provinces. Allen and ences may be driven by police behaviour. ­Perreault (2015, p. 8) report that “Among the 50 police servi- ces that reported the highest CSIs in 2013, 32 were located in the Provincial North, 8 in the Territories and 10 in the South.” Table 1 provides a comparison of crime rates per 100,000 CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS residents for all of Canada and BC, and this table reveals that 1. Why would British Columbia have higher rates of drug rates of property, violent, and overall crime are higher in use than the rest of the nation? British Columbia than the national average (the highest rates 2. What factors explain why British Columbia has the were in the territories and the Prairie Provinces). Allen and lowest rates of youth crime in the nation? Perreault also calculated the CSI for all of the provinces and 3. What factors might lead to higher crime rates in north- ern British Columbia?

TABLE 1 Crime Rates (per 100,000 residents), Canada and British Columbia, 2013 RURAL CRIME

Total Total Violent Violent Property Property Crime Crime Crime Crime Crime Crime We tend to think of rural areas as having relatively low rates Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate of crime and violence, but as noted in Chapter 2 of Exploring (South) (North) (South) (North) (South) (North) Criminal Justice, some rural places have higher levels of prop- Canada 4,749 10,425 981 2,511 2,984 4,948 erty and violent crime than any city. According to Statistics (Provinces) Canada (2011), about 610,000 persons, or 14 per cent of Brit- British 7,050 12,711 1,155 2,651 4,504 5,399 Columbia ish Columbia residents, live in the countryside and the nature Source: Adapted from Allen and Perreault (2015). of rural life shapes whether some crimes are ever reported to

3 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia the police. Table 2.2 in Exploring Criminal Justice in Canada, which reports the results of research carried out by Allen CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS and Perreault (2015), shows that the overall CSI in BC cities 1. What would explain the higher rates of rural crime in is slightly lower than that reported for rural areas (85.5 and BC compared with the cities? 89.1, respectively) and the violent CSI is higher in rural British 2. Why would offenders travel from the city to commit Columbia (83.4) than in the urban areas (81.2). crimes in rural BC? In order to better understand rural and urban differences, 3. Why would the urban cultivation of marijuana differ Simon Fraser University researchers examined violent and from growing marijuana in the countryside? property crime rates throughout the province using a number of different methods of comparison (Carleton, Brantingham, & Brantingham, 2014). Like Allen and Perreault (2015), they found that rates of reported crime were higher in the North. THE 2014–2015 CRIME INCREASE Carleton, Brantingham, and Brantingham (2014) find that “The more violent jurisdictions appear to be those that are One of the key themes in Chapter 2 of Exploring Criminal Northern district and more rural” (p. 614) and that “there is a Justice is that crime has been decreasing and police-­reported prevalence of small rural violent towns across the British Col- crime is at the lowest point in decades. Between 2014 and umbia landscape” (p. 616). These researchers caution against 2015, however, there was a 5 per cent increase in the Crime applying that finding to the entire province as there are areas Severity Index, which indicates the overall volume and ser- of both high and low rural crime. iousness of crime. Most of the national-level increase was due Chapter 2 in Exploring Criminal Justice addresses some to a greater number of cases of fraud, breaking and entering specific types of rural crime. During tough economic times, (B & E), robbery, and homicide (Allen, 2016, p. 3). Of special the number of rural property crimes can increase as farms interest was a 15 per cent increase in homicide offences, and and ranches are often unattended and vulnerable to theft. -Of Allen (2016, p. 3) reports that growth was primarily due to fences such as stealing livestock (rustling), harvested grain, increases in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. The viola- or farm chemicals can be very profitable. It might, for ex- tions driving the one-year changes in provincial CSI are pre- ample, only take a half-hour to round up a dozen cattle into sented in Table 2. a trailer—and those animals might have the same value as a All of the provinces except for , Prince Edward modest new car. No farm creature is immune from theft: a Island, and Quebec showed an increase in 2015 ( and review of newspaper accounts found that entire colonies of also decreased). Most criminologists would agree that bees were being stolen throughout Canada, including hives we shouldn’t be too alarmed by a one-year increase in the over- in British Columbia (CBC, 2012). Even though losses from all crime rate as there are often yearly fluctuations. The large some bee have exceeded $100,000, it is doubtful that all increase is surprising, however, because similarly large one-year of these offences are reported, as a farmer’s insurance rarely covers these thefts because the hives are left unattended. TABLE 2 Changing Crime Severity Index (CSI) in Canada, 2014–2015 One cash crop for some British Columbians is growing Violations Driving the marijuana, which is a high-reward and low-risk activity. An- % Change Change in CSI alyses of outdoor cultivation sites show that BC pot farmers Canada +5 Fraud, B & E, robbery, homicide select these sites to maximize production and reduce the like- Newfoundland and Labrador +5 Sexual level 1, robbery, lihood of someone discovering the sites (Bouchard, Beaure- violent firearms offences gard, & Kalacska, 2013). A CBC (2010) report quoted Darryl –10 Theft of $5,000 or under, homicide Plecas, who was a criminologist at the University College of Nova Scotia –7 B & E, theft of $5,000 or under the Fraser Valley and who is now a Member of the Legisla- +12 B & E, fraud tive Assembly for Abbotsford South, who estimated that “For Quebec –3 B & E every 1,000 grow-ops, about 200 come to the attention of the Ontario +2 Fraud police. Police have the resources and get warrants to investi- +8 B & E, mischief, fraud gate about 100 of those, of which 65 might proceed to a bust. Saskatchewan +10 B & E, homicide, fraud Charges are laid in only 38 of those instances and—out of Alberta +18 B & E, theft of $5,000 or under, vehicle theft the original 1,000 grow-ops—eight people actually see jail British Columbia +4 Fraud, theft of $5,000 or under, time.” Beeby (2011) carried out a study for the Justice Depart- robbery ment about grow-operations in Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon –2 Homicide and Ontario and found that of the 415 people convicted, only +10 Homicide, B & E, assault level 3 16 per cent were incarcerated and of those offenders, one-half Nunavut –4 Homicide of them served four months or less. Source: Adapted from Allen (2016).

4 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia increases were reported in the (11.8 per cent) and offence . . . but it also considers 60 “non-crime” factors, the (11 per cent) in the calendar year from such as neighbourhood income, area traffic density, lo- 2014 to 2015 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016; Office for cations of illicit graffiti and even wind speed, to fore- National Statistics, 2016). cast the probability of a future crime being committed in the coming hours within a 100-metre radius of a CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS given location. (Ballingall, 2016)

1. Why would the number of murders in three distinct na- In other words, based on the information generated by the tions (Canada, United Kingdom, and the US) increase crime analysts, patrol officers might be directed to increase so much in a single year? their patrols at a specific time and place when they are not 2. Are there factors specific to British Columbia that responding to calls for services. One criticism of predictive might contribute to the crime increase? policing is that civil libertarians are very concerned about the volume of data collected on members of the public, and how this information is used, especially in some US INNOVATIVE CRIME CONTROL STRATEGIES: jurisdictions. PREDICTIVE POLICING IN BC An additional point in Exploring Criminal Justice is that the justice system is reactive because it responds to crimes One of the main points in Exploring Criminal Justice is that that have already occurred. Ferguson (2016) describes ap- crime is a complex social problem that defies simple solutions proaches such as predictive policing as the “holy grail” of (e.g., “Lock up all the criminals and throw away the key!”). policing as they are focused on prevention. Supporters of fore- Simple solutions haven’t worked in the past because complex casting crime claim this approach is objective and unbiased problems require long-term solutions that involve organiza- because these strategies are based on what the data tell us. The tions, interest groups, and people who have a stake in solv- discussion of hot spots in Chapter 2 of the textbook tells us ing these problems. A number of strategies are emerging that while crime can occur anywhere, it tends to be concen- throughout the nation to reduce antisocial behaviour and trated in certain neighbourhoods and generally occurs at pre- crime. For example, at over 75 sites throughout the nation the dictable times (e.g., break-and-enter offences during the day police are leading interventions to work with individuals or when homeowners are at work, and assaults when and where who are at risk of drifting into crime and are helping young people are active—such as late on Friday and Saturday these persons address their unmet needs (Taylor, 2016). Other nights at a popular bar). As a result, by directing the police crime reduction strategies were pioneered by BC criminolo- to patrol at places when and where a crime might occur, they gists to reduce the motivation to engage in crime by creating may deter an offence from occurring. barriers in the environment (Brantingham & Brantingham, The attention of predictive policing, however, seems to be 1981). A more current BC strategy is a 2016 pilot study to de- shifting from when and where a crime might occur to who termine the effectiveness of predictive policing. might become involved in an offence. Ferguson (2016, p. 26) Predictive policing has been defined as “any policing cites an example from Chicago where potential shooting vic- strategy or tactic that develops and uses information and tims and offenders are identified based on factors such as gang advanced analysis to inform forward-thinking crime preven- involvement, their criminal histories, whether their friends tion” (John Morgan as cited by Bowman, 2010, p. 2). Using or associates are engaging in crime, and whether the poten- this approach, police gather information from a variety of tial offender’s or victim’s involvement in crime is increasing sources—data about prior crimes (and offenders), and other or decreasing. In some cases the police also track the social data that might be only somewhat related to crime at all, such network use of these individuals. Once a person is identified as unemployment. Usually these data are “real time,” mean- as being at high risk of being involved in crime, a group of ing that the officers are using data gathered in the previous individuals (police detective, community leader, and social weeks—rather than depending on statistics that are several worker) meet with the potential victim/offender and try to years old. These data are analyzed or “mined” to enable crime develop strategies to reduce the risk of violence. Ferguson analysts to predict where and when a crime might occur, or calls this a movement from hot spots to hot people. Although who might engage in these offences. The City of Vancouver the predictive policing approach undertaken in British Col- started a pilot program in 2016 that uses umbia does not focus on people, one might question whether that would change if these strategies are proven effective. An intricate software program designed by a team of Given current budget restrictions, police services are mathematicians and geospatial engineers. The pro- being asked to be more effective with the same level of resour- gram sifts through crime data as far back as March ces, and as a result strategies such as predictive policing are of 2001, including the time, place and nature of an interest to the police. Predictive policing is still in its infancy

5 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia in Canada and although it has been widely adopted in the US, police service, which means that the provide the there has been very little research to show its effectiveness in oversight for these agencies, just like a municipal government, crime control (Perry et al., 2013). As a result, researchers such although this agency’s operations are funded by the federal as Ryan Prox, who is leading the pilot study on predictive and provincial governments. There are 38 self-administered policing in Vancouver, maintain that we should move slowly Aboriginal police services in Canada, and the Stl’atl’imx and make decisions based on the effectiveness of this strategy. Tribal Police, which was established in 1999, is the only such agency in British Columbia. Other police officers are employed to respond to and con- CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS trol crime in transportation-related industries. These officers have the same powers of arrest as municipal police officers, 1. Is the shift from “hot spots” to “hot people” a logical carry firearms, and receive the same training. The Transit step for preventing crime, and what sorts of implica- tions does this have for policing? Police (also known as the Greater Vancouver Transit Author- 2. Could such a strategy be used in Surrey to respond to ity Police Service or South Coast British Columbia Trans- the gang-related shootings in that community? portation Authority Police Service) was founded in 2005 to 3. Some critics have called predictive policing “high-tech provide a single police service to ensure the safety of Vancou- racial profiling.” Do you agree with that assessment? ver’s transit system. With almost 200 officers, this agency is (See Hvistendahl, 2016, for a critical review of predict- one of the largest agencies in British Columbia, and only the ive policing.) RCMP and Vancouver Police Service deploy more officers. In addition to the municipal and RCMP police, both the Can- adian National and Canadian Pacific Railways employ sworn BRITISH COLUMBIA’S JUSTICE SYSTEM police officers in British Columbia. What is distinctive about these officers is that they are employed by private corpora- AT A GLANCE tions and can enforce any Criminal Code violation, as well as engage in traffic enforcement, just like their counterparts The Police in British Columbia with a municipal agency or the RCMP. The previous pages described how British Columbia’s crime Table 3 presents the provincial police strength and the rates fall within the mid-range in Canada and are generally 2015 CSI and violent CSI (see Allen, 2016; Mazowita & Green- close to the national average. On 1 July 2015, a total of 8,678 land, 2016) for the provinces. Although the number of police police officers were employed in British Columbia, or 1.85 -of officers for every 1,000 residents is similar across the nation, ficers for every 1,000 residents, which is slightly less than the there is a lot more variation in crime rates. British Columbia national average of 1.92 officers per 1,000 residents (Mazowita had the fourth highest CSI and violent CSI and to respond to & Greenland, 2016). British Columbia has a somewhat dif- those offences the province also deployed the sixth highest ferent approach to policing compared to most provinces, as number of officers per capita for the provinces. most large municipalities contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to provide police services. As a result, there are only 11 municipal police departments in the prov- TABLE 3 Police Strength, Overall and Violent CSI, 2015 ince and those agencies employed 2,534 officers (Mazowita & Police Officers per Greenland, 2016, p. 16). The largest municipal police services 1,000 residents Total CSI Violent CSI (2015) (2015) (2015) are Vancouver, Victoria, and Abbottsford. Newfoundland and 1.68 65.6 66.4 All of the remaining municipalities and rural areas are Labrador policed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) “E” Prince Edward Island 1.54 49.7 40.8 Division, which has more personnel than any other division. Nova Scotia 1.97 61.9 67.5 The RCMP in British Columbia employed 6,144 officers on New Brunswick 1.70 63.0 60.4 1 July 2015 (Mazowita & Greenland, 2016, p. 16) and they po- Quebec 1.94 55.7 65.8 2 liced an area of about 935,287 km (99 per cent of the prov- Ontario 1.90 50.6 59.2 ince), which is more than three times as large as the entire Manitoba 2.01 104.3 135.9 United Kingdom (Britain and Northern have an area Saskatchewan 2.02 135.8 134.8 2 of 243,610 km ). Alberta 1.71 102.3 96.5 Some distinctive police agencies in British Columbia British Columbia 1.85 94.7 83.0 serve specific populations or places. The Stl’atl’imx Tribal Yukon 3.47 183.6 207.7 Police, for example, is an Aboriginal police service that serves Northwest Territories 4.56 319.0 357.7 10 communities and has detachments in Lillooet and Mount Nunavut 3.55 270.2 380.5 Currie. The Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police are a self-administered Source: Adapted from Allen (2016); Mazowita & Greenland (2016).

6 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

Police Training in British Columbia are only open when court is scheduled (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2015). For example, court in Kitimat is All municipal police officers in British Columbia receive their held on the first Thursday and Friday of each month. Circuit training at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC), courts are often held in makeshift facilities such as schools, which is located in New Westminster. Only individuals who community centres, or band offices on First Nation reserves. have been hired by a municipal police service can partici- As a result, many lack proper security or the privacy for law- pate in this training. According to the JIBC (2016) training yers to meet with their clients. On the other hand, these rural is comprised of three parts. Block I, which takes 13 weeks, locations reduce travelling and give residents access to the places heavy emphasis on police skills (such as driver train- courts, and this reduces the number of offences for failure to ing, firearms, arrest and control, investigation and patrol appear in court. techniques), legal studies, physical fitness, foot drill (dress Table 5 shows the court structure in the province and the and deportment), and an introduction to the social sciences. staffing levels of the Provincial and Supreme Courts, and In Block II, the recruit constable returns to her or his home the Court of Appeal. In addition to judges listed below, the police department for a period of 13 to 17 weeks. During this ­province also employed 28 full-time and 3 part-time judicial field-training component, the recruit works under the guid- justices on 1 June 2016; these officials preside over applica- ance and continuous assistance of an experienced, specially tions for detention and bail, and many hear matters related to trained constable (known as a field trainer), who is respon- traffic (Provincial Court of British Columbia, 2014). Another sible for ensuring that the recruit receives a wide exposure to 300 justices of the peace, who work throughout the province, general police work. In Block III, which lasts an additional also support the court system. 8 weeks, the recruit constable returns to the police academy, British Columbia Provincial Courts hear cases related to bringing experience from the “street scene.” After success- criminal and family matters (including youth court cases), fully completing Block III, the recruit graduates as a “Quali- small claims cases (which are civil disputes of less than fied Municipal Constable” (JBIC, 2016). $25,000), and matters related to traffic violations. Judges in All RCMP officers in Canada are trained at their academy, the Supreme Courts of BC, by contrast, hear cases related to the “Depot” Division in Regina, which was established in serious criminal offences, matters related to divorce, and civil 1885. RCMP training lasts for 26 weeks and unlike the JIBC cases in excess of $25,000. The Court of Appeal forBritish ­ training that BC municipal officers receive, most of these Columbia is the highest level of court and hears appeals hours are academy-based, and RCMP recruits do not have from Provincial and Supreme Courts. The Court of Appeal much exposure to the “streets” prior to their graduation. sits in Vancouver and Victoria, and, on an irregular basis, in Once recruits graduate from the academy, they are required ­Kamloops, Kelowna, and Prince George. to complete a six-month Field Coaching Program, where they Figure 6 shows that the number of adult criminal cases receive on-the-job training from an experienced field train- heard by British Columbia courts has decreased between ing officer, who is called a field coach. Table 4 summarizes the 2000–2001 and 2013–2014. In 2013–2014, BC courts heard specific training areas. 35,850 cases, which was down from 49,159 cases in 2001–2002 (that total does not count youth or traffic court cases). De- British Columbia’s Courts spite the fact that the number of cases has been decreasing, Adult and youth criminal matters in British Columbia are the median case processing time (not shown on Figure 6) has heard in 89 court locations, of which 45 are full-time courts actually increased, from 95 days in 2001–2002 to 113 days in staffed throughout the week. An additional 44 circuit courts

TABLE 5 British Columbia’s Courts

Type Number Judges TABLE 4 RCMP Recruit Training Provincial Court Permanent (45) Chief Judge, 103 full- Circuit (44) time judges, and 36 Topic Hours part-time senior judges Applied police sciences 370 Supreme Court of Lower Mainland (3) Chief and Associate Detachment visits, exams, etc. 112 British Columbia Vancouver Island (7) Chief Justice, 88 Firearms 104 Northern Interior (8) justices, and 15 Southern Interior (10) supernumerary Police defensive techniques 99 justices* Police driving 67 Court of Appeal of Vancouver, and as needed Chief Justice, 13 Fitness and lifestyle 46 British Columbia in Victoria, Kamloops, and justices, and 8 Kelowna supernumerary justices Drill, deportment, and tactics 43 *Supernumerary judges are semi-retired judges who sit part-time. Total 841 Source: Adapted from Court of Appeal for British Columbia (2016); Provincial Court for Source: Adapted from RCMP (2017). British Columbia (2015).

7 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

60,000 Kamloops, and Duncan. These courts were first established in 2006 to provide a rehabilitative orientation that takes into 50,000 account the distinctive challenges that many Aboriginal per- sons face. 40,000 Court security is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of the justice system. The BC Sheriff Services provides 30,000 court security for all provincial, supreme, and appeal courts, 20,000 and is responsible for transporting prisoners from places of detention to courts and from courts to provincial or federal 10,000 correctional centres. Prior to the 1990s many of these roles were carried out by sworn police officers, but as sheriffs are 0 not trained investigators, their salaries are somewhat less 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 than sworn officers, which reduces court costs. Like police FIGURE 6 Criminal Cases Heard in BC Courts, 2000–2001 to 2013–2014 officers, deputy sheriffs receive training at the Justice Insti- Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 252-0055. tute of British Columbia, although they require fewer hours of training (16 weeks compared with 22 weeks of in-class 2013–2014. With respect to appeals, a total of 296 criminal instruction for police officers). Sheriffs are issued sidearms, matters were filed with the Court of Appeal for British Col- but they are increasingly responsible for transporting high- umbia, and the Court heard 44 of them (Court of Appeal for risk individuals—such as gang members—and some are now British Columbia, 2016, p. 49). being issued assault rifles (Fries, 2016). Specialized courts are being introduced throughout Canada to better manage specific offences or distinctive types Provincial Corrections of offenders, such as persons charged with domestic violence. Ten provincial correctional centres hold adults in British Col- As highlighted in Chapter 7 in Exploring Criminal Justice, umbia (shown in Table 6) and they range in size from fairly members of the courtroom work group develop specialized small facilities, such as the Alouette Correctional Centre for knowledge and expertise about these offenders and are able Women with an average count of 112 inmates, to larger fa- to develop more effective strategies than traditional courts in cilities that hold inmates from an entire region, such as the reducing recidivism. In order to better manage persons with Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, that had an average mental illnesses and problems with substance abuse, who count of 470 inmates in 2012–2013 (British Columbia Cor- are frequently charged with offences, a­specialized court—­ rections, 2013). Some of these facilities, such as the North Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court—was established Fraser Pretrial Centre, primarily hold adult inmates who are in 2008. Most of the individuals before the court have been remanded in custody, while other facilities will hold a mix of charged with relatively minor offences, such as mischief, theft, sentenced and remanded inmates. and possession of drugs, as well as common assaults. The ob- Figure 7 shows that the average daily number of provin- jective of this court is to develop sentences that access resour- cial inmates remained fairly stable, with an average count of ces from health, mental health, and social service agencies. 2,554 individuals in 2000–2001 to 2,404 inmates in 2014– Most of these offenders are required to complete community 2015, and that total includes remanded and sentenced adults. service hours to help repay the community for the harm that they committed. A short video describing the court’s operations can be accessed at http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/ TABLE 6 Adult Correctional Centres and Average Daily Population, criminal-justice/vancouver-downtown-community-court/ 2012–2013 the-community-court-s-story. Facility Average Count Other problem-solving courts in British Columbia in- Alouette Correctional Centre for Women 112 clude the Victoria Integrated Court, which is structured Ford Mountain Correctional Centre 107 similarly to the Downtown Community Court as it targets Fraser Regional Correctional Centre 470 interventions with chronic offenders, who often suffer from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre 288 problems with mental illness, addictions, and homelessness. Nanaimo Correctional Centre 180 Other examples of specialized courts include the Drug Treat- North Fraser Pretrial Centre 524 ment Court of Vancouver, and there are a number of domes- Okanagan Correctional Centre (opened Fall 2016) ----- tic violence courts throughout the province, including ones Prince George Regional Correctional Centre 247 in Duncan and Nanaimo; domestic violence cases also are Surrey Pretrial Services Centre 197 heard in Kelowna and Penticton on specific dates. Last, First Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre 312 Nations courts sit in New Westminster, North Vancouver, Source: Adapted from British Columbia Corrections (2013).

8 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

18,000 consider the distinctive cultural backgrounds of Aboriginal 16,000 offenders, who account for almost one-quarter of the cor- rectional population. Aboriginal inmates in all of the adult 14,000 custody facilities have access to programs that emphasize 12,000 “spiritual leadership, counselling and cultural program- 10,000 ming” (BC Corrections, 2016, p. 4). 8,000 Officials in British Columbia have also introduced a 6,000 number of restorative justice (RJ) programs throughout the province. As noted in Exploring Criminal Justice these pro- 4,000 grams attempt to restore the harm that occurred when an of- 2,000 fender committed a crime. Restorative initiatives can occur 0 pre-charge (usually through police discretion), as part of 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 the sentencing (e.g., a sentencing circle), or post-charge (e.g., Custody Community when the offender has been sentenced but then participates in a restorative process to facilitate accountability and heal- FIGURE 7 British Columbia Probation and Custodial Populations, 2000–2001 to ing). Restorative processes, while similar to retributive justice 2014–2015 in the goal to achieve social equality, focus not just on the Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 251-0005. offender but also on all parties with a stake in the offence, such as the victim and community, who are often ignored or According to Reitano (2016, p. 10), that number translates excluded from mainstream justice. into 63 provincial inmates for every 100,000 residents, which is the lowest rate for the entire nation (the national average Federal Offenders is 85 inmates per 100,000 residents), and Manitoba leads Federal prisoners are serving terms of imprisonment two years the provinces with 240 inmates for every 100,000 residents. and longer; and about one-quarter are “lifers” who will be under Incarcerating inmates is a costly undertaking and Reitano correctional supervision for the rest of their lives (whether they (2016, p. 16) reports that the average daily cost to house an are residing in an institution or the community). There are eight inmate in BC was $213.01, which was somewhat more than federal facilities in the Pacific Region (which includes Yukon), the national average of $198.50. These costs, however, are although all of the federal facilities are in BC. All but one of the much less than that for housing a federal inmate—which cost facilities—the Fraser Valley Institution for Women—have all- $301.94 in 2014–2015 (Reitano, 2016, p. 16). male populations, and they are housed in a range of different In order to reduce reoffending, BC Corrections (2016, security settings. Kent Institution, for example, is a maximum pp. 2, 4) has developed a number of rehabilitative programs security facility whereas the William Head Institution houses (based in the community and in custody facilities), including prisoners in a minimum security setting. In recognition of the the following: high proportion of Aboriginal offenders in the province, the Correctional Service of Canada established a small minimum • Violence Prevention Program: A program that helps security facility in 1975—the Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village— offenders understand the factors that contribute to their that provides culturally relevant programs, teachings, and ser- involvement in domestic violence and enables them to vices to these prisoners. Historically, about three-­quarters of better manage their anger. the offenders in the healing village were serving life imprison- • Relationship Skills for Women: Offenders participate ment sentences and most of the 87 offenders in 2016 are Ab- in a 13-unit program (each lasting 150 minutes) original (Parole Board of Canada, 2016). where correctional officers teach them about healthy relationships and taking responsibility for their TABLE 7 Federal Penitentiaries in British Columbia actions. Facility Rated Capacity • Emotions Management for Women: Correctional officers Fraser Valley Institution for Women (Abbotsford) 112 deliver a 10-unit program (each lasting 150 minutes) that Kent Institution (Agassiz) 420 helps offenders build their confidence and teaches them Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village (140 km east of Vancouver) 50 about making safer decisions. Matsqui Institution (Abbotsford) 350 • Essential Skills for Success: Offenders are helped by Mission Institution (Mission) 324 correctional officers to develop basic life skills (e.g., such Mountain Institution (Agassiz) 440 as budgeting, and finding work and staying employed). Pacific Institution—Regional Treatment Centre 573 In addition to providing gender-specific rehabilitative inter- (80 km east of Vancouver) ventions, BC Corrections has also developed programs that William Head Institution (25 km west of Victoria) 180

9 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

As a large percentage of federal offenders are suffering Report Card on British Columbia’s from mental illnesses, the Regional Treatment Centre, with Criminal Justice System 573 beds, provides psychiatric care in a multi-level security Perrin and Audas (2016) developed a report that graded prov- setting (there are minimum, medium, and maximum sec- inces and territories and they are presented in Table 8. British urity units). In addition to the penitentiaries, a number of Columbia ranks eighth in the nation in this overall rating, Community Correctional Centres are operated by the Cor- especially in regard to support for victims, but the province rectional Service of Canada. These house federal offenders does a better job at efficiency and managing costs and resour- who are returning to the community on day parole or con- ces. Table 9 shows the different objectives of the criminal jus- ditional release, which is a type of early release. These fa- tice system and how these were measured. cilities are located in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kelowna, and Vancouver. Youth Corrections TABLE 8 Report Card on Provincial and Territorial Justice Systems Public Support Cost and Fairness Overall Youth aged 12 to 18 years who have been remanded or sentenced Province Rank Safety for Victims Resources & Access Efficiency Grade to custody are placed in youth facilities operated by the provin- PEI 1 B+ B+ B+ B A B+ cial government, and these include secure custody (e.g., higher NL 2 B B+ C+ B+ B B security) and open custody, which are community-based low NB 3 B+ C+ B+ B B B security operations. Figure 8 shows that the average number QC 4 B C+ B B+ C+ B of youth being held in custody has decreased significantly be- NS 5 B B C+ B+ C+ B tween 2000–2001 and 2014–2015: from a daily average of 288 AB 6 C+ B B+ C C+ C+ to 66, a decrease of more than three-quarters (77 per cent). The ON 7 B B B C+ C C+ number of youth under community supervision also dropped BC 8 C+ C B C+ B C+ SK 9 C C+ C C+ B C+ during the same period, from an average of 2,754 youth on NU 10 C F F A+ A C+ probation in 2000–2001 to 634 youth in 2014–2015. These find- NWT 11 C+ F F B+ A C ings are consistent, however, with British Columbia having the MN 12 C+ C D C+ C C fewest number of youth accused of crimes (see Figure 5 above). YK 13 C F F B+ B+ C Despite the fact that the number of youth behind bars Source: Adapted from Perrin and Audas, 2016 in BC has decreased, things do not always go smoothly. In July 2016 there was a riot at the Burnaby youth facility that took police six hours to contain. A CBC report cites a union TABLE 9 Objectives of Criminal Justice Systems spokesperson as saying that “Tensions have been very high Public • The fundamental purpose of the justice system is to protect inside the jail. There’s been several assaults on staff and more Safety society by holding offenders accountable, but also by providing and more inmates with mental illnesses” (Merali, 2016). One supports to rehabilitate offenders. • Measured by (a) crime and clearance rates; (b) public perceptions of the challenges of providing care for juveniles in detention about police enforcing the law, ensuring safety, and satisfaction facilities is that that their behaviour is often volatile due to the with safety. uncertainty of their upcoming charges, and factors such as Support • Victims have rights related to information, protection, for Victims participation, and restitution. gang involvement increase tensions among the youth. • Measured by (a) proportion of offenders given restitution orders; (b) referrals to victim’s services; and (c) public perceptions about 350 police supplying information and being approachable. Costs and • The justice system should be run in a cost-effective manner 300 Resources while meeting its core objectives. • Measured by (a) per capita cost of public safety; (b) per capita 250 cost of corrections; (c) average daily inmate cost; and (d) number of police per capita. 200 Fairness • The justice system must guarantee the constitutional rights of and accused persons and provide them with fair and impartial trials, 150 Access to as guaranteed by the Charter. Justice • Measured by (a) legal aid expenditures per crime; (b) percentage of trials with a guilty outcome; (c) proportion of Aboriginal 100 persons in custody versus their prevalence in the population; and (d) public perceptions about the police being fair. 50 Efficiency • A well-functioning criminal justice system should ensure prompt and thorough investigations and timely prosecutions and trials. 0 • Measured by (a) Criminal Code incidents per police officer; 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 (b) accused on remand per 1,000 crimes; (c) average criminal case processing time; (d) percentage of cases stayed or FIGURE 8 Average Number of Youth in Custody, British Columbia, 2000–2001 withdrawn; and (e) public perceptions about the police to 2014–2015 responding promptly. Source: Adapted from CANSIM Table 251-0008. Source: Adapted from Perrin and Audas (2016, pp. 29–30). 10 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

convicted was that the prosecution withheld information CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS from the defence counsel, including information contained 1. What does the justice system in British Columbia do in “police notes, reports, lab information, interviews, wit- well, or poorly? ness statements and Vancouver police property and exhibits” 2. If you could improve the justice system in British Col- (Postmedia, 2016a). The Henry case reinforces the import- umbia, what would be your first step? ance of the Crown providing full disclosure of evidence to the defence counsel, the right to which was recognized in the 1991 Stinchcombe decision of the . WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: According to his lawyer, “Henry filed more than 50 court ap- THE IVAN HENRY CASE plications from prison in an effort to get the wrongful con- viction quashed. But nobody listened to him . . . so he’s been The public’s trust and confidence in the justice system is through a tremendous ordeal” (Daily Courier, 2014). His case shaken when people are convicted and punished for of- was ultimately heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, and fences they didn’t commit. Wrongful convictions date back the Court ruled that Henry could use the Charter of Rights ­thousands of years and 20 Canadians who were wrongfully and Freedoms to sue the government for the actions of the convicted have been exonerated and released from prison police and prosecutors. due to the efforts of Innocence Canada (2016). Other wrong- fully convicted persons were released from prison before In- nocence Canada was established, or they received help from CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS other lawyers, so we don’t know the actual number of Can- 1. Ivan Henry was awarded $8 million in compensation adians whose convictions were overturned. Almost 100 other for his wrongful conviction and subsequent punish- prisoners have asked for help from Innocence Canada and ment: Was that a fair amount of compensation? 17 are from British Columbia (Innocence Canada, 2016). 2. How do we hold the persons who make such miscarri- One of the most recent exonerations of a person who was ages of justice accountable? wrongfully convicted occurred in British Columbia: Ivan 3. How do cases of wrongful conviction influence our per- Henry, who served 27 years in prison after being convicted ceptions of the police, courts, and corrections? of 10 sexual offences in 1983. Because he was designated as a dangerous offender, he could be held indefinitely. However, throughout his trial and after his conviction, Henry main- KEY BC CRIMINAL CASES AND ISSUES tained his innocence and claimed that the police had focused on him without considering the actions of another potential Every province has cases that draw considerable public suspect, a person named D.M., who lived near Henry and attention, and in Chapter 4 in Exploring Criminal Justice the who had been arrested and charged with his involvement in issue of celebrated cases was described. These cases are in- a number of trespassing and break-and-enter offences. D.M. teresting to us because they involve celebrities, the crimes ultimately pled guilty to a number of sexual offences, which are particularly violent or unusual, or because of the vul- were similar to those Henry was accused of committing nerability of the victims. The following section highlights (Postmedia News, 2016a). two celebrated cases that happened in British Columbia. In In June 2016 Ivan Henry was awarded $8 million in com- addition, two ongoing issues are also described: the women pensation by a BC judge. According to Woo (2016): who disappeared on the “Highway of Tears” (Highway 16) that runs between Prince Rupert and Prince George, and the BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson current fentanyl crisis that emerged in BC after 2010 and has said the Crown “seriously infringed” Mr. Henry’s right become a public health emergency. While reviewing these to a fair trial and demonstrated a “shocking disregard” summaries, it may be worthwhile to think about the factors for his Charter rights when it withheld evidence that that draw our attention to these acts, and how we can prevent could have raised reasonable doubts about his guilt. similar crimes. “If Mr. Henry had received the disclosure to which he was entitled, the likely result would have been his Reena Virk Murder acquittal at his 1983 trial, and certainly the avoidance In some respects Reena Virk could be described as an outsider of his sentencing as dangerous offender,” the Chief who wanted acceptance: she was a 14-year-old East Indian ­Justice said in his written decision. girl from a highly religious Jehovah’s Witness family living in Saanich. She was often humiliated, harassed, and bullied Justice Hinkson found that the province was liable for by the other girls at school due to her physical appearance the wrongful conviction. One of the reasons Henry was (Steinberg, 2009). On 14 November 1997 some of her female

11 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia classmates planned to punish her because they thought she Indigenous women). Many allege that the police were slow to was trying to steal one of their boyfriends. Reena was invited investigate these murders because of the marginalized status to a large party after school where she received a vicious beat- of these women. One of the Vancouver police investigators ing, including having a cigarette stubbed out on her forehead: who worked on the case wrote that the police were indiffer- most of her assailants were girls. While walking home after ent to the plight of the victims and the case mishandled, and the attack, she was again assaulted and drowned by a male observed that “There was a mindset that these were dispos- and female. Although some youths allegedly knew about the able women, that these victims chose this life . . . so we’re not killing and talked about it at school, Reena’s body was not going to put ourselves out in quite the same way that we might found by police for eight days (News in Review, 2000). if it’s somebody’s daughter from UBC” (Canadian Broadcast- This case drew international attention due to the vicious- ing Corporation, 2015a). ness of the attacks and her vulnerability. In addition to being The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was estab- widely reported on and the US, the case lished in 2010 to investigate the factors that led to the large was highlighted in several books (see Godfrey, 2007). Virk’s number of missing and murdered women in the Vancouver murder was likened to the murder of the youth described in area, and it focused primarily on Pickton’s crimes. The Com- the novel Lord of the Flies (News in Review, 2000). Like other mission gathered evidence for over a year and Wally Oppal celebrated cases, the legal matter took a considerable amount (2012, p. 160), the Commissioner, concluded that the police of time before it was finally resolved in 2009. The six girls investigations were a blatant failure, observing that these who participated in the initial assault were all incarcerated, women were “forsaken twice: once by society at large and although none served more than one year (Steinberg, 2009). again by the police.” Oppal made numerous recommendations Of the two youths who carried out the murder, the male about making improvements to the justice system to reduce co-accused (who was 16 years old at the time of the offence) the likelihood of similar miscarriages of justice occurring in was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced in the future. When the National Inquiry into Missing and Mur- 1999 to life imprisonment, and he was granted a full parole dered Indigenous Women and Girls was announced in 2015, in 2010. Between 1997 and 2009 the female offender (who was some were critical of the Oppal report because it did not pay 15 years of age when Virk was murdered) was tried three times attention to the root causes of the murders of these women and her case was heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2015b). The National 2008. The female offender, Kelly Ellard, has been incarcer- Inquiry won’t complete its work or release its report until the ated since the murder and she was refused an application for end of 2018. Commissioner Oppal’s report can be accessed at day parole in 2016 although was granted day parole in Feb- http://www.missingwomeninquiry.ca/obtain-report/. ruary 2017. Ellard received further media attention when it was found that she became pregnant after a conjugal visit in Fentanyl Crisis: Public Health prison and was expected to deliver her child before the end of or Criminal Justice Problem? 2016 (Bolan, 2016). Sometimes we are fearful of rare events, such as homicide, Robert Pickton: when we are at much higher risk of dying from other causes. For example, 95 British Columbians were murdered in 2015 BC’s Most Prolific Serial Killer (Allen, 2016) while 125 died as a result of fentanyl overdoses, Robert “Willie” Pickton, from Port Coquitlam, was originally­ and in 2016, 922 died from overdoses of illicit drugs (Brit- charged in 2002 with the murder of 26 women, but was even- ish Columbia Coroners Service, 2017). If the rate of fentanyl tually convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007 overdose keeps at its current pace, more British Columbians for killing 6 women. Although 65 women went missing in will die from using this drug than are murdered in the entire the of Vancouver between 1978 and nation. 2001 we won’t ever know the true number of people Pick- Fentanyl is a highly addictive drug that is inexpensive (it ton actually murdered, although he “confessed to killing a costs about $20 to “get high”) but also highly lethal, and “a total of 49 women to an undercover police officer posing as dose the size of a grain of salt has sent hundreds to early graves a cellmate” (Postmedia News, 2016b). Pickton operated a pig across Canada” (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2016). farm and police retrieved the DNA evidence or remains of In response to the increased number of people who were dying 33 women on his land (Bains, 2014). from using this drug, the province of BC declared its first-ever The Pickton case drew considerable international atten- public health emergency in April 2016. In order to decrease tion due to the seriousness of his crimes as well as the fact the number of fatalities, first responders such as emer- that his victims, many of whom were often involved in the gency medical service workers and police officers have been sex trade, were from marginalized groups (e.g., were poor, issued naloxone kits to reverse overdoses (for persons using had mental health or addictions problems, and many were fentanyl as well as persons accidentally exposed to the drug).

12 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

Naloxone is also being distributed to “street people” who re- immediately deemed the women’s deaths to be sui- ceive some training about administering the drug. cides, drug overdoses or accidents, over the protests When confronted by a serious social problem that in- of relatives who suspected foul play. “There was no in- volves an illegal act (such as taking illicit drugs) governments vestigation,” she said, citing one recent case. “The file can choose a number of responses, including using the crim- folder’s empty.” (Levin, 2016) inal justice system or treating the problem as a health-related concern. One difference between the two approaches is that Levin does note that the RCMP established a task force to in- a public health official would treat the problem by provid- vestigate these missing women, and the Civilian Review and ing supports to individuals with addiction problems and Complaints Commission for the RCMP has investigated the attempting to deter potential users. As a result, the public issue of policing in northern British Columbia, including health model is preventative and focuses on trying to reduce how missing person cases are handled. That report was re- demand, and this approach is called a harm reduction model. leased in February 2017 and is available at: https://www.crcc- Using the justice system to control drug use, by contrast, ccetp.gc.ca/pdf/northernBC-finR-en.pdf might focus on making arrests of drug users or attempting to Hume (2016) reports that at least one BC government offi- control the flow of the drugs into the province, which is a more cial involved with the investigation allegedly “triple deleted” reactive approach that focuses on reducing supply. A contro- emails related to the Highway of Tears investigation after a versial approach taken in some US jurisdictions is that over- Freedom of Information request was made. The inability of dose deaths are sometimes treated as homicides in order for the police to solve some of these cases and the deletion of the police to go after the dealer. In an example described in the emails have created further distrust from Indigenous peoples. Los Angeles Times, police in Virginia found that one bad batch Baum (2016) observes that “Police services have been working of heroin sold by a single dealer was attributed to six deaths, to rebuild trust with the aboriginal community after decades and the police perspective was that “the new approach was of tension,” but the efforts of the police might not be effective born partly out of desperation as they seek new ways to combat until these issues are resolved. an epidemic that shows no signs of abating” (Wilber, 2016). A British Columbia example of the conflict between the public health’s harm reduction model and the justice system CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS is the Insite injection site in Vancouver. Originally opened in 1. Is the fentanyl crisis a criminal justice or public 2003, Insite is a safe and clean place to inject illicit drugs and health problem, or should both approaches be used offers a range of health-related services for people suffering to manage this emergency? Should the drug dealers from addictions. This approach was controversial as some crit- who are adding fentanyl to other drugs that result in ics say that these services flaunt the law, that the government multiple deaths be treated as homicide offenders? should not be in the business of facilitating drug use, and that 2. How can police services restore trust with Indigenous such an approach does not deter drug use (Stueck, 2012). Kerr peoples given crimes such as Pickton’s murders or and Montaner (2013) point out that over 30 peer-reviewed the missing women on Highway 16? studies have shown that “Insite saves lives and health care dol- 3. How can we protect young people, such as Reena lars, reduces disease transmission, and promotes entry into ad- Virk, from being preyed on by other youth? diction treatment.” When Insite’s existence was challenged in 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it remain open. SUMMARY Missing Women and the Highway of Tears TheRCMP has estimated that at least 19 women have disappeared The amount and seriousness of crime varies across the coun- or were murdered on the 720-kilometre section of Highway 16 try and this supplement shows that British Columbia has between Prince George and Prince Rupert since the 1970s. The rates of property and violent crime that are fairly close to cases of these missing women are controversial for the same the national average, although the province leads the nation reason as the murders of the women in Vancouver, as many are in convictions for drug use. Despite the fact that rates of re- young Indigenous women. Various advocacy groups, including ported crime are at the lowest levels in decades, there is still Human Rights Watch (2013), argue that the actual number of fear of crimes such as , and these fears reduce murdered or missing women is much higher, and the case has the quality of life for many women and girls in the province. received international attention. Carolyn Bennett, the federal Moreover, while the provincial statistics reveal an average Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, observed that for the entire province, there are differences throughout the province and some rural and northern communities have One reason to doubt the estimate by the Royal Can- high rates of crime (Carleton et al., 2014), and Surrey has high adian Mounted Police, she said, is that the police often levels of gang-related violence. Because every province has

13 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia a different history, population characteristics, levels of eco- provinces or territories. A report card on the operations of nomic development, political values, and cultural beliefs, the the justice system developed by Perrin and Audas (2016) crime control solutions will be different as well. As a result, suggests that some progress is needed. Learning about the the personnel in British Columbia’s adult and youth justice differences in crime problems and how we respond to them systems may respond to antisocial behaviour and crime in makes exploring criminal justice in Canada an interesting a slightly different manner than is the case in neighbouring undertaking!

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14 Exploring Criminal Justice in British Columbia

Godfrey, R. (2007). Under the bridge: The true Merali, F. (2016). Riot at Burnaby youth deten­ .provincialcourt.bc.ca/about-the-court/ story of the murder of Reena Virk. Toronto: tion centre causes fire, extensive damage. CBC judicial-officers/judicial-justices Pocket Books. News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/ Provincial Court of British Columbia. (2015). Human Rights Watch. (2013). Those who take news/canada/british-columbia/burnaby- Annual report 2014/15. Vancouver: Author. us away: Abusive policing and failures in detention-facility-riot-1.3687452 Reitano, J. (2016). Adult correctional statistics in protection of Indigenous women and girls Miladinovic, Z., & Mulligan, L. (2015). Homicide Canada, 2014/2015. Ottawa: Canadian Centre in the northern British Columbia, Canada. in Canada, 2014. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for for Justice Statistics. Washington, DC: Author. Justice Statistics. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2016). Hume, M. (2015). B.C. government “triple News in Review. 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